TrackIR3 Pro Head-Tracking System For Gamers

simfan writes "Ars has a review of the TrackIR3 Pro up that's worth a look. Using the TrackIR cursor control system originally designed to help the disabled, the company made a device that tracks your head movements in games. It turns out that this works really well in flight sims and other games where you can replace mouse control. There's some video of the performance as well."

Comments

Review/Eye Strain

[RalphBinaca]

Nice review.

I must wonder exactly how useful it is. I can only imagine the eye strain one would get by continually turning their head far to the right and left and having to keep your eyes focused on the screen. Getting a headache just thinking about it.

Re:great news for the next level in games

[grantdh]

this has to be pretty damn important for the behind-the-scenes push for VR game consoles

Been there, done that. Remember all those VR games and consoles that came out years ago? Where are they now? Gone. Know why? Made ya sick!

Ever played a VR game for a long time? When your eyes and ears are saying that you're running down a corridor, changing direction, looking around and moving about, but the motion-detection system that is your inner-ear says "Nope, this butthead's just standing in one place" then your brain gets confused and PUKE!!!

Total immersion VR = totally immersed in your own vomit

See, here's the deal. Your brain is programmed at some *really* base level to equate an imbalance between what your eyes and ears are saying vs what your inner ear is saying with "Shit, I've eaten something nasty, get it out of my system! PUKE!!!!" Now, fastwind through to today where you're sitting in a car that's going around corners, accelerating, etc - keep your head down and try to read. Eyes say you're (sorta) sitting still but your inner ear says "Hell no, I'm staggering all over the place" - how long until you feel queasy? Most people get it pretty damned quickly.

I was using a friend's VFX-1 headset to fly a flight sim. It was great. Best loop I've ever done on a computer 'cos I could just move my head about to see wing, horizon, etc. But, after an hour or so of zapping around the place, I *had* to stop or I would have been sick.

So no amount of new tech and toys will bring back VR consoles. Either we find some way to trick the inner ear into thinking we're moving at the same rate the vision/sound system is showing OR we breed a bunch of people who have disconnected their inner ears :)

Re:Saccades

[TheSteve]

If bicycles had just come out and you couldn't simply go out, buy one and immediately compete in races and perform stunts, people would still be willing to practice and put in the time needed to learn the skills that make it second-nature.

How long after getting your first bike were you completely comfortable and proficient at riding it? It took more than a day and involved some bumps and scrapes, I'm sure. It took some training to get good at.

You only had to learn it once, though. Years later, it's just like... well, riding a bike.

Every follow-on product in the head and eye-tracking device market will be able to take advantage of the motor skills and reflexes honed by devices like these.

When we pick up a new game, using the WASD keys for movement and the mouse for looking around is not something most of us have to concentrate on. We don't have to relearn the skills. The first time required some getting used to, though. Some training and practice was needed, but those skills are ingrained now and won't soon be forgotten.

It's going to be the same for alternate input devices that require fine motor control, too. Once the mind makes a complete mapping between the results on the screen (or wherever) and the muscles and nerves, the mechanics will be relegated to subconscious control and the interface will be transparent - the actions will be instinctual.

Everyone who rides one had their first bike, and while I haven't yet used head or eye-tracking devices, I'm sure I will. My first one might just have training wheels, too.

This is a fantastic technology -almost.

[GrpA]

I know a lot of people have come up with a variety of different ideas for tracking head movement, but I've always wondered if it would be possible to know exactly where someone is looking as well, with an economical device hooked into the next generation of really high resolution displays.

Then you could tie this into a video rendering algorythm and adjust the level of detail to maximise it in the area you are looking at.

Just think.... A 40" display, with 10240x7680 resolution, with 80% of the rendered detail in the few inches of display you are actually looking at.

Now that would make a killer first-person shooter application or vehicle sim...

I know we've come a long way since opponents at distance were just a few fuzzy pixels, but I have a feeling that with technologies like OLED's that the resolution of display technology will quickly outstrip the processing power of video cards.

And most of that processing effort for parts of the screen we're not really looking at.

GrpA

Yeah but

[nilbog]

If you turn your head, then your not looking at the screen anymore...